Automatic clock calendar



Oct. 4, 1955 L. E. WOLFGANG AUTOMATIC CLOCK CALENDAR 2 SheetsSheet lFiled Jan. 7, 1953 IN VEN TOR. Loxzv f. WQLFGANG,

Oct. 4, 1955 l.. E. WOLFGANG 2,719,372

AUTOMATIC CLOCK CALENDAR Filed Jan. 7, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 UnitedStates Patent O AUTOMATIC CLOCK CALENDAR Loren E. Wolfgang, Fortville,Ind.

Application .lanuary 7, 1953, Serial No. 329,972

13 Claims. (Cl. 4-114) The present invention relates to calendars andparticularly to a motor driven, automatic type calendar.

The primary object of the invention is to provide such a calendar havingthree drums mounted for rotation upon a common shaft, one of said drumsbearing the numerals 1 to 31, another of said drums bearing the names ofthe days of the week, and the third drum bearing the names of the monthsof the year, said calendar further having means for turning the day anddate indicating drums at the end of each day, and means for turning themonth indicating drum at the end of each month.

A further object is to provide means whereby the calendar willautomatically adjust itself to compensate for the extra day during theleap years.

Ancillary objects will become apparent as the description proceeds. j

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention maybe embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings,attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings areillustrative only, and that change may be made in the specificconstruction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of theappended claims is not violated.

Fig. 1 is a rear elevational view of calendar mechanism embodying myinvention;

Fig. 2 is a fragmentary elevation of a preferred form of drive means forthe calendar mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary elevational view similar to Fig. 1 but showingthe drum actuating mechanism in another position in the operating cycle;

Fig. 4 is a further elevational View similar to Fig. 3 but showing thedrum actuating mechanism in still another position;

Fig. 5 is an end elevation of the date indicating drum takensubstantially on line 5-5 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 6 is an end elevation of the month indicating drum takensubstantially on line 6-6 of Fig. 1; r

Fig. 7 is an end elevation of the day indicating drum takensubstantially on the line 7-7 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substantially on line 8 8of Fig. 7 and showing a detail of the drive mechanism for the dayindicating drum;

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view` of an element of the calendarmechanism taken substantially on line 9--9 of Fig. 6 but at a time whenthe element is in its lowermost position; and

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of an element of the calendar actuatingmechanism.

Referring more particularly to the drawings, a shaft 10, supported atopposite ends in suitable brackets 11 and 12, has journalled thereon inaxially spaced relation, three drums 13, 14 and 15. For purposes of thisspecification, I prefer to call drum 13 the date drum, drum 14 the monthdrum, and drum the day drum.

About its periphery, date drum 13 has the numerals `1 Vto 31 inscribedthereon at equally spaced intervals; about its periphery, month drum 14has the names of the months of the year inscribed thereon at equallyspaced intervals; and, about its periphery, day drum 15 has the names ofthe days of the week inscribed thereonat equally spaced intervals. Ihave found it more expedient to provide the day drum 15 with two sets ofweek da'y names, so that there are fourteen such names on that drum ascompared to twelve names on the month drum. This is done so that theangular stepping of the drum 15 need not vary too unduly from theangular stepping of the drum 13.

In the front wall of housing H in which the calendar is enclosed, thereare three apertures. Aperture 16 registers with date drum 13, aperture17 registers with month drum 14, and aperture 18 registers with day drum15, so that only one day name, one month name and one date will appear,through said apertures or windows on the face of the calendar, as, forinstance, Wednesday January 25.

Because of the number of numerals on date drum 13, that drum must beturned, at the end of each day, through one-thirty-first of arevolution. The day drum 15, however, must be turned throughone-fourteenth of a revolution each day, and the month drum 14 must beturned through one-twelfth of a revolution at the end of each month. Itis the mechanism for accomplishing this movement of the drums with whichmy invention is primarily concerned.

The drive or actuating mechanism forl the drums comprises a push-rod 19having one end mounted and guided upon, for instance, a headed stud 20xed to the housing H and passing through an axially-extending slot 21 inrod 19. Preferably, a cam 22 engages the end of rod 19 and is driven bya conventional clock motor, or the like (not shown) to make onerevolution in each twenty-four hours. The cam is so shaped that, throughsubstantially 360 of the revolution thereof, rod 19 is moved steadilydownward as viewed in Fig, 1. As the cam completes a revolution, as, forinstance, at midnight each night, its highest point 23 releases the rod19 which thereupon moves rapidly upward under the iniiuence of a spring24, or the like.

A crank arm 25 is fixed to shaft 10, projecting radially therefrom, andis pivotally connected to the lower end of push-rod 19. As the rod 19 isaxially reciprocated by the cam and spring arrangement, shaft 1l) willhe oscillated in brackets 11 and 12.

One end wall 26 of date drum 13, carries a series of peripherally spacedindexing means indicated generally by the reference numeral 27. For thepurpose of this invention, there are thirty-one such means,equiangularly spaced about a common circle concentric with shaft 10.Twenty-seven of such means preferably constitute radial slots 28 throughthe end wall 26. The remaining consecutive four of such means constitutetabs (the group of tabs being indicated generally by the numeral 29)raised out of the plane of drum end 26. Tab 29a' is raised only a shortdistance out of the plane of end 26, tab 291; is raised slightly fartherout of said plane7 tab 29e is raised still farther out of that plane,and tab 29d is raised still farther out of said plane. In other words,the tabs are raised progressively fard-ier out of the plane of the wailin which are formed the slots 28, counting in the direction opposite thedirection of rotation of drum 13.

The end wall 3f? of month drum 14, facing end wall 26 of date drum 13,likewise carries a series of indexing means, indicated generally hy thereference numeral 31. For the purpose of this invention, there aretwelve such means, one for each month of the year, equiangularly spacedabout a common circle concentric with shaft 10 and preferably radiallyspaced from such shaft a distance substantially equal to the radialspacing of means 27 on drum 13. Those indexing means which correspond tothose months having thirty-one days preferably constitute radial slots32 through the end wall 30 similar to slots 28 in drum 13. Thoseindexing means which correspond to the months of the year having thirtydays preferably constitute tabs 33 raised out of the plane yof end wall30 to lie in a common plane. The indexing means which corresponds to themonth of Febmary comprises a generally planar element 34 mounted forrotation upon a pivot or trunnion 35 substantially perpendicular to aradius of drum 14. Said element 34 has four radially projecting fingers,each carrying a toe turned out of the plane of said element in thedirection opposite that of the drum rotation. The trunnion 35 is sopositioned, relative to an opening 32 in the drum end Wall 30 that thefingers 36 and 37 will project successively through said aperture as theelement 34 is turned about the axis of said trunnion. The direction ofprojection of said fingers, of course, is the direction in Which thetabs 33 are raised out of the plane of the wall 30. Finger 36 isslightly shorter than the remaining three fingers 37 of said element,and is of such length that, when the element 34 is so disposed thatfinger 36 projects through said aperture 32', its toe will lie slightlybeyond the plane common to the free ends of tabs 33. The remaining threefingers 37 are of such length as to locate their toes still fartherbeyond said common plane, when positioned to project through saidaperture. Obviously, only one of said fingers can lie in such projectedposition at any one time.

A stationary cam 33 is fixed closely adjacent drum 14 and in the path ofthe fingers of element 34. Each time element 34 is moved past cam 38,the currently projecting linger will engage the cam and element 34 willbe rotated through 90, retracting that finger and placing the nextfinger in such projected position. This structure is for the purpose ofautomatically compensating for the added day in February during the leapyear and its operation will presently become apparent.

To provide a driving connection between shaft 1f) and the indexing meanson drums 13 and 14, I provide a supporting member or arm 39 (see detailFig. l0) fixed to shaft for rotation therewith by means of a pin 40passing diametrically through the shaft and oscillably mounting member39 for limited oscillation about the axis of such pin.

A pawl 41 is carried on the other end of arm 39, and, in the illustratedembodiment of my invention, comprises a triangular shaped portion of arm39 turned out of the plane of said arm, substantially at right anglesthereto, toward the end 26 of drum 13. Pawl 41 is radially spaced fromshaft 10 a distance substantially equal to the radial spacing of theindexing series 27. Resill ient means such as spring 42 urges the freeend of member 39 toward drum end 26 thus urging pawl 41 into operativeengagement with the indexing series 27. As shown, one end of spring 42is anchored on arm 39, while the other end thereof bears against shaft10.

As shaft 10 is oscillated by push-rod 19, member 39 is likewiseoscillated causing pawl 41 to engage certain Onesv of the indexing meansof series 27.

Since there are only twelve positions for drum 14, in order that saiddrum will be turned through one-twelfth revolution, arm 39 must beangularly oscillated through at least 30. But since drum 13 must occupy3l positions, it must be turned through only one-thirty-first of arevolution upon each oscillation of member 39. Ob- Viously, therefore,some type of lost motion means must be provided so that pawl 41 will beheld out of operative engagement with the indexing means of series 27until only about 11 30 of the 30 movement of mem-- ber 39 remains.

To this end, I provide a cam 43 comprising a body portion 44 pivoted asat 44 to a bracket 45 for oscillation in a plane substantially parallelto the axis of shaft 10 but radially spaced therefrom. Body portion 44supports a pair of substantially parallel arms 46 and 47 projecting awayfrom the pivot 44 and curved to conform substantiallyto a circleconcentric with shaft 10 on a radius slightly greater than the distanceof pawl 41 from said shaft.

Arm 46 has an end portion 48 turned out of the line of the arm towarddrum end 26, preferably at an angle of approximately with said arm. Arm47 has a similar end portion 49 similarly turned from the line of arm 47toward drum end 26, for a purpose later to become apparent.

The end of arm portion 48 is notched as at 50 to define a finger 51projecting beyond the end of said portion. A spring 52 engages theportion 44 to rock cam 43 about pivot 44 toward drum 13. When one ofthose means of the indexing series 27 corresponding to the numerals l to27, is in registry with arm portion 48, finger 51 will take into one ofthe slots 28 in the drum end 26. When, however, one of those four means29, corresponding to the numerals 28, 29, 30 and 31, is in registry withcam portion 48, the end of one of these tab means will take into thenotch in said portion. In either event, it will be seen that the endportion 48 will thus hold the current date numeral in proper registrywith aperture 16.

Member 39 has a portion, here constituting a pin 52, projecting radiallybeyond pawl 41, and interengaging the adjacent edges of the arms 46 and47. Thus, as the arm 39 swings about the axis of shaft 10 in response toreciprocation of the push-rod 19, the pin 52 is guided, by thecurrently-engaged portions of the cam 43, to cause the arm 39 to swingabout the axis of pin 40 to assume positions dependent upon the currentpositions of the cam 43 and the push-rod 19, in a manner to be explainedhereinafter.

Member 39 is further provided with a hook 54 for operative engagement,at times, with the indexing means 31 on drum 14. In the illustratedembodiment of my invention, hook 54 is formed in a plate 55 oscillablyjournalled on pin 53 and is formed with an arcuate slot S6 thereincentered on pin 53. A second pin 56, carried by member 39, takes intothe slot to limit the oscillation of the plate about pin 53. Suchoscillation will, as seen in Fig. l0, move hook 54 toward and away frompawl 41. A spring 57, carried on member 39 and engaging plate 55, urgeshook 54 toward its position farthest from pawl 41.

Drum 13 is provided with a counterweight 58, so positioned as to biasdrum 13 toward a position in which the numeral 1 will appear in window16. Since the momentum of drum 13, under the influence of counterweight58, and when released by the mechanism above described, would carry thedrum past that point, I provide an abutment member 59 comprising a pinprojecting from the end 26 of drum 13. Cam 43 further is provided with afinger 60 near pivot 44 projecting into the path of pin 59. Such fingeris moved into the path of pin 59 only when cam 43 is rocked toward drum14 in a manner to be described hereinafter. Pin 59 strikes finger 60 toarrest rotation of the drum with the numeral l in registry with window16.

In order that drum 14 will remain fixed in the position to which it isrotated each time by hook 54, I provide braking means comprising a brakeshoe 9 (Fig. l) resiliently held in restraining engagement with drum 14.l

Day drum 15 has a series of peripherally spaced indexing means 61arranged in a circle concentric with shaft 10 on end 62 thereof andconstituting, preferably, a plurality of equiangularly spaced radialslots, one for each day of the week. As heretofore stated, I prefer toprovide two sets of day names and a corresponding number of slots 61 sothat the drum may be moved through one-fourteenth, rather thanone-seventh, of a revolution upon each reciprocation of the push-rod 19.

A ratchet dog 63 is fixed to shaft 10 upon a resilient arm 64 and isadapted to engage successively in slots61. Asshaft 10 is oscillated bypush-rod 19, arm 64 vwill swing dog 63 angularly about the shaft axis.The dog is triangularly shaped, as shown in Fig. 8, and when moved inthe direction opposite to that of drum rotation, edge 65 thereof ridesup out of the slot 61. Moving in the opposite direction, the square edge66 engages in one of slots 61 thereby rotating drum 15 to place the nameof the next day in registry with window 18. Brake means similar to thatfor drum 14 is provided and comprises a brake shoe 67 resiliently heldin restraining engagement with drum 15 whereby said drum is held againstmovement except by dog 63.

Assuming that the month is November, the date is the 26th and the day isWednesday, the numeral 26 on the drum 13 will be displayed throughwindow 16, the name "November on the drum 14 will be displayed throughthe window 17 and the name Wednesday on the drum 1S will be displayedthrough the window 18. The cam 43 will be in its extremecounter-clockwise position, under the iniiuence of the spring 52, sothat the finger 51 thereof will be engaged in one of the slots 28. If itis approximately noon, the cam 22 will be in its illustrated position asshown in Fig. 2 and the arm 39 will Abe in a position, relative to thehorizontal, somewhat lower than that illustrated in Fig. l, so that thepin 53 will be approximately at the break in the upper surface of thefinger 43. Thus, the pawl 41 will be out of engagement with any of theindexing means 27 or 29.

As the cam 22 continues to rotate, the shaft l@ will be oscillated in aclockwise direction as viewed from the left of Fig. l, the pin S3 willmove more deeply into the slot between the portions 46 and 47 of the cam43, and the toe 63 of the arm 64 will be riding the outer surface of theend wall of the drum 15, between slots 61.

When the high point 23 of the cam 22 is just about to pass the upper endof the push-rod 19, the toe 63 of the arm 64 will have dropped into oneof the slots 61, the pin 53 will be at the bottom of the slot betweenthe portions 46 and 47 of the cam 43, the pawl 41 will thus be out ofengagement with any of the indexing means on the drum. 13; and, sincethe finger 43 is resting against the end wall 26 of the drum 13, thecarn 43 will be in such a position that the hook 34 will be spaced tothe left (as viewed in Fig. l) of any of the indexing means on the drum14. Now, as the push-rod 19 drops off the high point 23 of the cam 22,`the spring 24 will snap the push-rod to its uppermost position, therebyswinging the shaft 1t? in a clockwise direction as viewed from theright; of Fig. l, to the limit of its stroke. As the pin 53 rides uprelative to the cam 43, the spring 42 will hold that pin resiliently inContact with the right-hand surface of the portion 46-48 of the cam; andshortly after the pin passes `the break in that surface, the pawl 41will engage in one of the slots 28, to carry the drum 13 throughonethirtyfirst of a revolution, rthe parts being carefully proportionedand designed to hold the pawl out of engagen ment with the indexingmeans on the drum 13 through approximately l 30 of the 30 oscillatorystroke of the shaft 10. That slot in which the finger 51 has theretoforebeen engaged will cam against the under surface of that ringer, as thedrum moves, to shift the cam 43, against the tendency of the spring 52,to permit the drum to move and to permit the finger 51 to drop into thenext slot 28. The drum 14 will be unaffected. The toe 63 of the arm 64,engaging in the next slot 61, with lost motion of approximately 4, willshift the drum 13 through one-fourteenth of a revolution.

Now, the numeral 27 is displayed through the window 16, the naineThursday will be displayed through the window 18, and the name Novemberwill still be displayed through the window 17.

Upon the next reciprocation of the push-rod 19, the

tab 29a will cam against the under surface of the finger- 4S, and theparts will come to rest with said tab 29a engaged in the notch Si). Now,the cam 43 will stand in a position somewhat closer to the adjacent endwall of the drum 14, and the calendar will show Friday, November 28. i

The next reciprocation of the push-rod will result in lodging the tab29h in the notch 50; and the next reciprocation will lodge tab 29e inthe notch S0. Now, the calendar will show Sunday, November 30; and thecam 43 will be almost as far to the right as it is shown in Fig. 1.

Now, as the pushrod 19 moves downwardly again, the pin 53 will againride the `cam surface of the finger 48, whereby the radially outer endof the arm 39 will be shifted to the right, as viewed in Fig. l, fartherthan on any reciprocation heretofore. As the pin 53 passes the break inthat surface, the right-hand end of the plate will strike the tab 33,corresponding to the month of November; and said plate will be swungabout the axis of the pin 53 and against the tendency of the spring 57,to pass said tab. Of course, as soon as the plate has passed the tab,the plate will be swung again to the position illustrated in Fig. 10, bythe action of the spring 57.

Now, as the high point 23 of the cam 22. leaves the push-rod, the hook54, moving upwardly with the arm 39, will engage the said tab 33,whereby the arm 39 will be held against movement to the left along thesurface of the finger 48 under the influence of the spring 42, andwhereby the drum 14 will be turned through one-twelfth of a revolution.At the same time, the pawl 41 will be held out of engagement with theindexing means on the drum 13. As the arm 39 completes its upwardmovement, the pin 53 strikes the lower surface of the portion 49 of thecam 43 to shift the cam 43 momentarily into its ultimate clockwiseposition disengaging notch 50 from tab 29e whereby the counterweight 58will be given an opportunity to turn the drum freely, and whereby theiinger is moved into position to engage the abutment member 59 toposition the drum 13 with the numeral l in registry with window 16.

Now, the calendar will show Monday, December l. As arm 39 is once againstarted downward by cam 2.2, hook S4 will disengage from tab 33. Whenthat happens, spring 42 will move arm 39 to the left, as viewed in Fig.l, and into engagement with one of the slots 28. At the Sametime, spring52 will rock cam 43 to the left and finger 51 into one of the slots 28.

Throughout the first twenty-seven days of December, the pawl 41 and camfinger 48 will cooperate with the indexing means 27 of the drum 13 inthe manner first above described. On the 28th, the tab 29u will come torest in the notch 5t), on the 29th the tab 29h will come to rest in saidnotch, and on the 30th the tab 29e will come to rest in said notch.There is no tab 33 on the drum 14 corresponding to the month ofDecember; but instead there is a notch or slot 32 corresponding to thatmonth. Therefore, the hook S4 will remain inactive as the push-rod 19 isactuated at midnight on December 30; and the parts will be shifted tobring the tab 29d to rest in the notch Si?. This, of course, brings theparts to the positions illustrated in Fig. 1; and when the push-rod isagain reciprocated, the hook S4 will engage in the notch 32corresponding to the month of December; and the drum 14 will be turnedthrough 30 as the push-rod 19 moves upwardly, so that the calendar willshow Thurs day, January l. i

1953 is not a leap year. Therefore, the element 34 will be positionedwith one of its arms 37 projecting through the aperture 32. lt will beremembered that the arms 37 are longer than the arm 36 and that the arm36 is so proportioned that, when it projects through the opening 32',its axial extent beyond the end of the drum is greater than that of thetabs 33. The element 34 is so proportioned and designed that, at the endof February of 1953, the currentlyprojecting arm 37 will be disposed inthe path followed by the: hook 54 when the tab 29a is seated in thenotch Sil-that is, at midnight on February 28. Therefore, the hook 54will engage the arm 37 of the element 34 as the push-rod 19 moves up onvthat occasion, the drum 14 will be turned, and the drum 13 will betemporarily released to permit the counterweight 58 to turn the drum 13to a position in which the figure l will be displayed through the Window16.

Each time the element 34 passes the fixed cam 38, the element 34 will beturned through 90. The intermediate arm 37 will thus project through theaperture 32 during 1954, and the third arm 37 will project through thataperture during 1955. Sometime prior to February of 1956, however, theelement 34 will be turned to the position in which the arm 36 projectsthrough the aperture 32'. Since the arm 36 is shorter than the arms 37,engagement of the tab 29a in the notch 50 will not move the cam 43 farenough to cause the hook 54 to engage the arm 36. Therefore, at midnightof February 28, 1956, the drum 13 will be moved and the drum 15 will bemoved but the drum 14 will be unaffected; and the tab 29b will `come torest in the notch 50. The length of the tab 29h is such as to move thecam 43 sufiiciently so that, upon the next reciprocation of the push-rod19, the hook 54 will engage the arm 36, and `the drum 14 will be movedtogether with the drums 13 and 15, the drum 13, of course, beingreleased for movement under the infiuence of the counterweight 58, inthat the calendar will show Thursday, March l.

Although the device herein described is relatively simple andinexpensive to manufacture, it embodies all the features necessary tomake it a truly automatic calendar. So long as it is in continuousoperation, driven by an accurate clock mechanism, it will indicate thecorrect date, month and day, automatically adjusting itself tocompensate for leap years.

l claim as my invention:

1. For use with an automatic calendar of the type comprising a firstdrum, a second drum, and means mounting said drums in axially spacedrelation for relative rotation about a common axis, the invention ofactuating means for so rotating said drums, said first drum beingprovided with a first series of indexing means, and said second drumbeing provided with a second series of indexing means, said actuatingmeans for said drums being located between said drums, and comprising apawl, a hook, supporting means for said pawl and said hook supportingthe same for generally axial movement between said first and secondseries of indexing means and for angular oscillation about the axis ofsaid drums, driving means for so angularly oscillating said pawl andsaid hook once in each twenty-four hours, cam means operativelyengageable by said supporting means to guide said pawl and said hookaxially during such angular oscillation, said pawl being successivelyoperatively engageable with the indexing means of said rst series torotate said first drum through a predetermined angle when said cam meansis in one position, means incorporated in certain ones of said firstseries of indexing means and operatively engageable by said cam means toshift said cam means from a position near said first drum to a secondposition near said second drum, said supporting means being operativelyengageable with said cam means when in said second position to shiftsaid pawl, upon angular oscillation thereof, axially out of operativeengagement with the indexing means of said first series and to shiftsaid hook into operative engagement with certain ones of the indexingmeans of said second series to rotate said second drum through apredetermined angle, and brake means engaging said second drum toyieldably restrain rotation thereof.

2. The device of claim l in which said first drum is a date drumprovided with a series of numerals from l to 31 spaced about theperiphery thereof, said first series of indexing means being arrangedangularly about one end thereof, one of such means for each suchnumeral, and in which said second drum is a month drum provided with thenames of the calendar months spaced about the periphery thereof, saidsecond series of indexing means being arranged angularly about one endthereof, one of such means for each such name, said one ends of saiddrums being arranged in mutually facing relation.

3. The device of claim 2 in which said means mounting said drumscomprises a shaft and said supporting means comprises an arm carried bysaid shaft between said drums for rotation with said shaft andprojecting radially therefrom for swinging movement about an axissubstantially normal to the axis of said shaft, said pawl and said hookbeing carried at the free end of said arm, said arm further having aportion projecting beyond said pawl and said hook to operatively engagesaid cam means.

4. The device of claim 3 in which said driving means comprises a drivenrotary cam, a spring, and a pushrod engaged at one end by said rotarycam and held in such engagement by said spring, the other end of saidpush-rod being operatively connected to said supporting means.

5. The device of claim 3 in which said cam means comprises a bodymember, pivot means supporting one end of said body member for limitedoscillation about said pivot means in a plane substantially parallel tosaid shaft but spaced therefrom, said body member supporting a pair ofsubstantially parallel arms projecting away from said pivot means andspaced slightly apart in the direction of said shaft axis, said portionof said supporting means projecting into coactive relation with theadjacent edges of said arms, that one of said arms nearest said datedrum having a portion remote from said pivot means turned toward saiddate drum, the end thereof being operatively engageable by said meansincorporated in said first series of indexing means, and the other ofsaid arms having a portion, farther from said pivot means than saidportion of said one arm, turned toward said date drum, and meansyieldably urging said body member to swing about said pivot means tomove said end of said portion of said one arm into such operativeengagement with said means incorporated in said first series of indexingmeans, said portion of said supporting means engaging said portion ofsaid other arm, upon angular oscillation of said supporting means, tomove said end of said portion of said one arm out of such operativeengagement with said incorporated means.

6. The device of claim 5 including a finger carried by said body memberadjacent said pivot means, an abutment member carried by said date drum,said finger being movable into the path of said abutment means when saidportion of said supporting means engages said portion of said other armof said member to rock said cam means about said pivot means, and meanscausing said date drum to rotate freely when said finger is sopositioned in the path of said abutment member, said abutment memberstriking said finger to stop the free rotation of said drum at apredetermined position.

7. The device of claim 6 in which said means causing said date drum torotate comprises a counterweight fixed to said date drum at a pointspaced from said abutment means.

8. The device of claim 5 in which certain of the indexing means of saidfirst series comprises tabs projecting from the end of said date drumtoward said month drum, the end of that tab corresponding to the numeral28 lying in a plane spaced from the plane of those indexing meanscorresponding to the numerals l to 27 toward the month drum, the end ofthat tab corresponding to the numeral 29 lying in a plane closer to saidmonth drum than the last said tab end, the end of that tab correspondingto the numeral 30 lying in a plane still closer to said month drum, andthe end of that tab corresponding to the numeral 3l lying in a planestill closer to the month drum than the other of said tabs, such tabscomprising those means incorporated in certain ones of said rst seriesof indexing means and operatively engageable by said cam means, thatindexing means of said second series corresponding to a twenty-eight-daymonth lying in a plane spaced from said month drum toward said datedrum, that indexing means of said second series corresponding to atwenty-nineday month lying in a plane spaced from said month drum towardsaid date drum, but farther from said date drum than the first saidindexing means, those indexing means of said second series correspondingto thirty-day months lying in a plane spaced from said month drum towardsaid date drum, but farther from said date drum than the second saidindexing means, and those indexing means corresponding to thirty-onedaymonths being spaced still farther from said date drum than the other ofsaid indexing means.

9. The device of claim 8 in which the indexing means of said secondseries corresponding to twenty-eight and twenty-nine day monthscomprises a plate having four arms projecting therefrom at right anglesto each other, three of said arms being of equal length and the other ofsaid arms being of a shorter length, means carried by said month drumand mounting said plate for rotation about an axis lyingin a chord ofsaid month drum, each arm carrying a toe turned out of the plane of saidplate in the direction opposite that of month drum rotation, such toesbeing successively engageable by said hook, and a stationary cam mountedin the path of the currently extended arm to engage that arm as saidplate is moved past said cam to rotate said plate through 90.

l0. The device of claim 8 in which said pawl is fixedly mounted to thefree end of said arm and projects therefrom toward said first series ofindexing means, and including means carried by said arm and supportingsaid hook thereon for movement toward and away from said pawl, and meansresiliently engaging said hook to urge it toward its position farthestfrom said pawl.

11. The device of claim 10 in which the means carried by said armcomprises a pin carried by said arm, said hook being journalled thereonfor rocking movement thereabout in a plane substantially parallel to theplane of said pawl, and stop means limiting ythe extent of such rockingmovement, and said last-named means comprises a spring carried by saidarm and engaging said hook to urge it toward its last-said position,said pin projecting beyond the plane of said hook to further constitutethat portion of said supporting means projecting into operativeengagement with said cam means.

12. The device of claim 1 including a third drum, means mounting saidthird drum in spaced relation to the rst and second said drums forrelative rotation about said common axis, said third drum comprising aday drum provided with the names of the calendar days spaced about theperiphery thereof, said drum being provided with a series of angularlyspaced ratchet teeth, a ratchet dog, means operatively connecting saiddog to said driving means, said dog being engageable with said 10 teethto rotate said day drum through a predetermined angle upon each cycle ofsaid driving means, and brake means yieldably restraining such rotationof said day drum.

13. For use with an automatic calendar of the type comprising a datedrum provided with a series of numerals from l to 31, a month drumprovided with the names of the calendar months, and means supportingsaid drums for relative rotation about a common axis, the invention ofmeans for actuating said date drum upon the passage of each day and saidmonth drum upon the passage of each month, said date drum being providedwith a series of indexing means, one for each of said numerals, and saidmonth drum being provided with a series of indexing means, one for eachof said month names, said actuating means being supported between saiddrums and comprising a drive member supported for angular rotation aboutthe axis of said drum supporting means a pawl operatively connected tosaid drive member and urged laterally toward successive operativeengagement with said date drum indexing means, a hook mounted to movewith said pawl, and guide means for so laterally urging said pawl, meansfor so angularly rotating said drive member once in each twenty-fourhours, and means incorporated in said date drum indexing means,corresponding to the numerals 28, 29, 30 and 31, and cooperating withsaid guide means to shift said pawl and said hook successively closer tosaid month drum, the elements of said month drum indexing seriescorresponding to thirty-one-day months being located substantially in acommon plane for operative engagement by said hook in its positioncorresponding to the numeral 31 in said date drum, the elements of saidmonth drum indexing series corresponding to thirty-day months beinglocated in a common plane closer to said date drum for operativeengagement by said hook in its position corresponding to the numeral 30in said date drum, the element of said month drum indexing seriescorresponding to a twenty-nine-day month being located in a plane stillcloser to said date drum for operative engagement by said hook in itsposition corresponding to the numeral 29 on said date drum, and theelement of said month drum indexing series corresponding to atwentyeight-day month being located in a plane still closer to said datedrum for operative engagement by said hook in its position correspondingto the numeral 28 on said date drum.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,863,926 Kleine June 21, 1932 2,458,092 Morris Ian. 4, 1949 2,561,790Elms July 24, 1951 FOREIGN PATENTS 566,726 France Nov. 26, 1923

